There’s so much good food to be eaten in Malaysia. Each trip I take across the border from Singapore is short and leaves me wishing I had eaten more.
At the risk of sounding like a brat, sometimes I wish the food scene in Singapore was less… healthy and sanitized. The dearth of street hawkers (except those pretend ones in Chinatown who charge more than the food court vendors in my neighborhood mall) makes us look so boring compared to our neighbours, and we’re limited to the same few options like Chomp Chomp or Geylang when seeking nighttime nibbles.
But back to Kuala Lumpur. It can be a hassle to locate good food, especially if you’re a tourist and have to rely on public transport. Thankfully my friend’s Malaysian cousins were nice enough to drive us to Seng Kee for supper one night.
Siu Yuk Meen (Roast Pork Noodles or 烧肉面), RM9.00 - Seng Kee is known for their siu yuk or roast pork in Cantonese. Because of the large Cantonese population in the city, there’s a distinctly Cantonese twist to Chinese cooking in KL. The roast pork at Sang Kee has been caramelized to the extent that it’s blackened. Ignore the sounds of your arteries wailing, these little cubes of meat are sweet, crunchy and unapologetically fatty. The pork is flavorful, as are the egg noodles, which have been coated with black sauce.
Lou Shu Fun, RM 9.00 for smallest serving - This dish is unbelievably delicious. I literally was overwhelmed by emotion as I ate it. That it arrived in a claypot topped with a mountain of minced pork, a liberal sprinkle of chopped spring onion and a raw egg was visually stunning. The aroma it emitted was mouth-watering and the umami bomb that hit me as I took my first mouthful of the hot, slippery rice noodles was just… awesome.
Seng Kee also does a mean hokkien mee, but it’s no match for the first two dishes reviewed above. The black hokkien mee I’ve tried (both here at Seng Kee and at Wong Ah Wah at Jalan Alor on my last visit back in 2010) is nothing like the white version we have in Singapore – the color can be attributed to large amounts of soy sauce and dark soy sauce, and results in a dish that’s way saltier and fiercer than what I’m used to. I’m also not big on the starchy, thick yellow noodles they use for the dish. But this all boils down to personal preference, and from what I saw at the restaurant this dish certainly has many fans.
Thanks to Seng Kee, lou shu fun is now something that I’ll think of everytime KL comes up in conversations. If anything, this is one great reason for me to return to KL soon.
Hokkien Mee. We had to walk through the busy Petaling Street and came to an end of the street and we proceeded to the right to Seng Kee. Apart from its famous fried pork intestines and claypot loh shu fun, we ordered the hokkien mee for sharing too. The mee was a bit moist for my liking and it used the basic ingredients such as vegetables. The taste was bland which I do not enjoy.
Siong Tong Lala (Clams in Superior Soup). The portion was quite generous; it has lots of clams in it. The soup was gingerly spicy as it contained lots of shredded ginger and chilli. It has strong wine taste, slightly bitter. It was thick enough for us to lick the bowl clean. The clams were fresh and sweet as well. Quite a delicious dish to warm up the stomach during cold weather.
Siew Yok (roast pork) noodle. The roast pork noodle is another recommended dish from this restaurant. The noodle was well-coated with the black sauce, the sauce was not too thick. The siew yok was well-balanced with fats and lean, and the skin was crispy as well. It was slightly salty. The siew yok was topped with some fried garlic which made it more fragrant.
Claypot Loh Shu Fun – One of the must-order in this restaurant is the claypot loh shu fun. The loh shu fun was served in a piping hot pot covered with minced pork and a raw egg. We have to mix the ingredients thoroughly. Although the dish was slightly salty, but it did not stop us from savouring the whole pot. The loh shu fun was soft and the minced meat was moist. The amount was quite generous.
Stir friend pork intestine. I was reluctant to try at first as I am a bit skeptical on animal's internal organs. It was strongly recommended by my friend and she said this is the most famous dish here, so I took a piece and tried. The intestine does not have a weird porky smell, it was clear and salty. Maybe it was strongly masked by the generous amount of fried garlic and chilli. The pungent smell was garlic was fragrant yet salty. The texture was springy and chewy. I felt in love with this dish!
Claypot Loh She Fun 
Fried Rice 
Stir-fried Kailan 
